Container



Sept. 3, 1935.

F. H. LANDON CONTAINER Filed June 2, 1933 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in containers or cans, particularly small cans of such size that they may be grasped with one hand only and tilted to pour out the contents.

The main object of the invention is to provide a can of such size and configuration that it may be conveniently and firmly grasped in one hand Without danger of slipping, even though the sides are wet or oily.

A contributory object is to provide a can of oval cross section and of a size to fit the hand, and having on opposite sides, two areas slightly concave or dished-in, so that a more positive hold may be assured than where the object to be grasped is convex.

A further object is to provide a can of this character having a nozzle on the oval top near one end of the oval so that when oil, for example, or other liquid is poured out, all of said oil will be discharged without turning the can completely upside down.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. l is a perspective view of the can;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; and

Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof.

The can is made preferably of the usual sheet metal, having an oval bottom l l and an oval top 7 l2, with any well known form of seam connecting them to the side wall. The top has an opening in it, provided preferably with a screw threaded nozzle 13 and a cap it. Said nozzle is located on the long axis of the ellipse and near one end thereof so that the outlet is very near the side wall of the can. Thus, when the can is tilted to pour out the contents, said can may be completely emptied without turning it upside down. In other words, substantially no pocket is formed in which some of the contents may be caught and retained.

The shape of the can is such that it may be readily grasped in one hand, one half of the oval or ellipse being of such size as to fit the average hand conveniently, with the thumb on one side and the fingers on the other side. In order to insure a firm grip and prevent slipping, the opposite sides of the can are dished-in at I5. These portions or areas are concave not only vertically but horizontally. See the dotted lines in Fig. 3. In other words, they are more or less spherical.

While the container may be used for any suitable product, it is intended primarily for dis- 5 pensing lubricating oil such as is used in the crank cases of automobiles. The can being of comparatively small size, it could be filled with lubricating oil and carried in the car as an emergency supply, and poured into the crank case by the driver. Such cans are apt to be a little oily on the outside, and therefore quite slippery, but the concave areas on opposite sides, while they are comparatively shallow, are nevertheless deep enough to afiord what is in effect a positive grip 15 on the can.

The half or more of the can which is gripped in the hand and comprising a half ellipse or more, fits the hand very conveniently. It is immaterial whether the remaining half of the can is an exact duplicate of the portion grasped in the hand or whether it is otherwise shaped, inasmuch as the pouring outlet is located on the side remote from that grasped in the hand. In other Words, the can is never grasped on the side having the outlet as it is not nearly as convenient to pour out the contents when holding it in this manner and there is in addition the possibility that the liquid may run down the side of the can over the hand.

I claim:

A dispensing can for lubricating oil having a cross section of greater length than width and having a circumference too large to permit said can to be encircled by the hand, dished-in portions on opposite sides of the short axis to furnish a convenient and firm hold for the thumb and fingers of the hand, said dished-in portions being of substantially oval form and concave not only vertically but horizontally, the side wall of said container curving from one of said dished-in portions to the other in substantially a half ellipse, to substantially fit the hand, and a pouring outlet in the top near the end of the long axis, remote from the part to be grasped by the hand.

FRANK H. LANDON. 

